1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a thermal transfer printing apparatus and a method of controlling the thermal transfer printing apparatus. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a thermal transfer printing apparatus and a method of controlling the thermal transfer printing apparatus which can print, on a natural image thermo-printed with a dye-based ink sheet, a character such as a date and/or a name, a decorative frame, or image information of a natural image different from the natural image thermo-printed with the dye-based ink sheet, by means of a protective coating layer.
2. Description of the Related Art
A printing apparatus serving as an output device of a computer or a digital picture in the related art can be classified into a thermal transfer printing apparatus, an inkjet printing apparatus, a laser printing apparatus, and a wire dot printing apparatus according to a recording method.
Among these apparatuses, the thermal transfer printing apparatus uses an ink sheet and a recording sheet to perform dot line thermo-printing on the recording sheet by selectively driving a plurality of heat generating elements arrayed in a main scanning direction and conveying the ink sheet and the recording sheet in a sub-scanning direction.
The thermal transfer printing apparatus attracts more attention in recent years with the advancement of an input apparatus such as a digital camera, a digital video camera, and a scanner handling an image on the input side. This is because the thermal transfer printing apparatus is suitable for providing printed output of electronic image information through a computer or a recording medium, the electronic image information being imaged by a still camera or a video camera recording a still image.
The thermal transfer printing apparatus (a thermal sublimation printing apparatus) can easily change the amount of heat controlling the density of one pixel, whereby one pixel can have multiple gradations relatively easily to provide a smooth, high-quality image.
Moreover, a thermal head as a recording unit as well as a recording sheet material have improved performance in the recent thermal transfer printing apparatus, which thus attracts attention as a natural image printer that can provide a printed image as good as a silver-halide photography.
Now, Japanese Patent No. 3861293 discloses that irregular pattern data stored beforehand in a memory provided in a printing apparatus is used to change the voltage applied to a thermal head and form irregularity on a laminated film. Further disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3861293 is a thermal transfer printing apparatus which performs thermo-printing on a protective coating layer (the laminated film) by using a plurality of pieces of thermo-print data provided, and forms irregularity corresponding to the thermo-print data on the surface of a thermo-printed material to realize a fine grain pattern or the like.
As a result, the printing apparatus is becoming capable of providing a printed image with a finished texture similar to that of a silver-halide photography.